Description:
The discovery of the Chengjiang Biota by Hou Xian-guang in 1984
resulted in a clear window on what is known as the Cambrian Explosion.
The diversity of soft-tissue fossils is astonishing: algae, medusiforms,
sponges, priapulids, annelid-like worms, echinoderms, arthropods
(including trilobites), hemichordates, chordates, and the first
agnathan fish make up just a small fraction of the total. Numerous
problematic forms are known as well, some of which may have represented
failed attempts at diversity that did not persist to the present
day.

The
Lobopodians are small marine and terrestrial animals termed colloquially
“velvet worms” or “worms with legs”. While
all Recent forms are terrestrial, most fossil Lobopodians are marine,
and are known primarily from the Cambrian. Six named genera, each
with a single species, are known from the Chengjiang Biota, making
it the richest source of fossils of the type on Earth. This is one
of the most striking, and quite rare; as of 2004, only some 15 examples
were known. It possesses a sclerotized head shield with 10 paired
sclerotic plates, each associated with a pair of legs. Each leg
bears curved claws which are thought to have served the creature
as an adaptation to crawling on other organisms. It is most closely
related to Aysheaia from the younger Burgess Shale. While only a
partial specimen, several legs are clearly evident; more of the
specimen may be present under the matrix on the right side.